Der Spiegel, (
German: “The Mirror”) weekly newsmagazine, preeminent in Germany and one of the most widely circulated in Europe, published in Hamburg since 1947. It was founded in 1946 as Diese Woche (“This Week”). The magazine is renowned for its aggressive, vigorous, and well-written exposés of government malpractice and scandals and for its photography. Its format resembles that of its American counterparts Time and Newsweek, although it is usually more than twice as thick. Der Spiegel is noted for its aggressive pursuit of news without regard for the peace of mind of the German government. A continuing exposé in 1962 revealed the financial problems of the armed forces. The articles involved Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss and implied that the armed forces would be unable to withstand a communist attack, although huge sums of money were being spent on defense. The editor, Rudolf Augstein, was arrested, along with four others on the magazine’s staff, and charged with the publication of secret information. He was detained for 104 days. The magazine’s hard-hitting news approach won it one of Europe’s biggest circulations and an abundance of advertisers. It is widely respected both for its coverage of news events and news analysis and for its concise writing, and it is generally regarded as one of the best news weeklies in Europe.

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